Rhode Island Primary Care Physician Corporation (RIPCPC) has announced today that it has held its first RIPCPC Behavioral Health Network meeting on Wednesday, October 22nd! This much anticipated meeting drew a crowd of over 40 behavioral health professionals, all attended with the same goal of improving communication within the healthcare community and opening access to behavioral health services. This meeting provided key information about how the network will work and allowed for discussion about the short and long term goals of the network. The behavioral health professionals that have committed to this organization were equally as thrilled to see that the healthcare community now recognizes that effective behavioral health integration will improve clinical outcomes. This affiliation is the first of its kind and RIPCPC PCP’s are eager to collaborate more closely and organize communication more effectively with Rhode Island’s behavioral health professionals. The Rhode Island Quality Institute (RIQI) was also present to help integrate Direct messaging capabilities within this network. Direct messaging allows for secure email communication between PCP’s and Behavioral Health Providers.

This integration will allow for RIPCPC physicians to smoothly facilitate a direct referral to a competent, capable, and available behavioral health professional in a timely manner. RIPCPC’s Primary Care providers will be guaranteed that their patients will receive prompt behavioral health access as well as bidirectional communication concerning the patient’s progress, while under the care of the behavioral health provider.  

“This is the culmination of over two years of strategic planning between RIPCPC and the behavioral health community. The creation of this network, within the State’s largest medical practice association, is a victory for all Rhode Islanders. The effective coordination of behavioral health services will improve the clinical outcomes of the patients we serve.” – Albert Puerini, MD, CEO & President of RIPCPC.

At this meeting, RIPCPC also unveiled its innovative behavioral health network professional database which allows for a primary care physician to search for a behavioral health provider that best meets the needs of their patients. As committee chairperson Dr. Matt Salisbury, M.D. said “We now have the ability to refer our patients to a behavioral health professional based on the insurances they take, their geographical convenience, and most importantly, we can now match the patients need with the best qualified behavioral health provider”

- Advertisement -

If you are a behavioral health provider and are interested in becoming a member of the RIPCPC behavioral health network, please contact RIPCPC at 401.654.4000.